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Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
‘Sunpat’ is a story of love and friendship set in the backdrop of migration driven crisis in the villages of Uttarakhand: Director Rahul Rawat at IFFI52
Panaji, 25 November 2021
Sunpat  is the loneliness felt by us and even the nature and mountains, when everyone around leaves. It is the emptiness at a festival ground when crowds deserts the place after the celebrations are over. In his Garhwali film Sunpat Director Rahul Rawat tries to capture this emptiness and void in the ghost villages of Uttarakhand which were left lifeless as a result of migration of its people to urban areas for jobs.
“Due to lack of opportunities people of Uttarakhand for long have been migrating to other parts of the country. These migrations which have happened due to various socio-economic factors has created approximately 1500 ghost villages in the state. More than 4000 villages are left with very few people and due to this the society, culture and tradition of these regions are at stake. I wanted to tell this story and tell people how migration is wreaking havoc in my state.” said Rawat.
Sharing his experience of about making the film, Rawat said the film were inspired by real life people whom they met and interviewed across the state. The shooting of the film was completed in 20 days once the casts were identified.
Veeru Singh Baghel who is DOP of the film narrated his experience of the shoot. “We used to get up early in the morning and had to literally run from mountain to mountain in search of sunlight as sun moves very quickly on the mountains. Whole cast and crew of the film used to help in shifting the equipments. I shot whole film on 2 LED lights. It was awesome experience all in all.”
The co-producer of the film Rohit Rawat who was present at the interaction shared his experiences also in making the film with the delegates and media.
Sunpat was screened in Indian Panorama Non-feature Film section in 52nd International Film Festival of India, Goa and it was first film from Uttarakhand to find a place in IFFI.
About Film
Indian Panorma Non-feature Film Sunpat by Director Rahul Rawat is a story of Twelve-year-old Anuj and his friend Bhartu go on to find out if the girl former likes, pays any heed to him. As they plan out the ways to propose her, we see, through their journey, the emotional trauma large part of the villages in Uttarakhand are facing due to the long-prevailing socioeconomic migration. ‘Sunpat’ is a story of love and friendship blooming at the time of hopelessness.
About Rahul Rawat
Director & Producer: Rahul Rawat worked under renowned ad-film directors, before joining Percept Pictures as a writer-director. Later, he shifted from advertising to films as he believed films can have life changing impacts on people and found meaningful to pursue.
Rahul Rawat has earlier worked with Amit Sharma 
Sunpat is his first film as a writer, director, co-producer and screenplay writer and editor.TEAM IFFI PIB | NT/MC/DR/IFFI-79
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Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
Positive impacts of sustainable and innovation-led urban development showcased
‘CITIES OF TOMORROW’ – Photography Exhibition being organised from 3rd October to 6th October, 2022
The National Institute of Urban Affairs  under the CITIIS program is organising a photography exhibition, titled “Cities of Tomorrow” with the purpose of depicting the positive impacts of sustainable and innovation-driven urban development in India as seen through the lens of the common citizen. The exhibition is the culmination of the “Cities of Tomorrow” photography competition, which was conducted in the 12 Smart Cities where the CITIIS projects are located.
CITIIS  is a joint program of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs , the French Development Agency , the European Union , and National Institute of Urban Affairs . The program is assisting 12 cities across India – selected through a competitive process – to develop and implement innovative and sustainable urban infrastructure projects. Entries for the competition had been invited from these cities, namely, Agartala, Amaravati, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Dehradun, Hubballi-Dharwad, Kochi, Puducherry, Surat, Ujjain, and Visakhapatnam.
Participants of the “Cities of Tomorrow” competition were required to interpret and take photographs based on themes corresponding to the focus areas of CITIIS, i.e., Sustainable Mobility, Public Open Spaces, E-Governance and ICT, and Social and Organisational Innovation in Low-Income Settlements. Over 400 entries were received and the winners were selected by a jury comprising renowned photographers Mr Raghu Rai, Ms Ketaki Sheth, and Mr Sounak Banerjee.
The exhibition opening on 3rd October will be graced by H.E. Mr Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the EU to India and Bhutan, Mr Damien Syed, Deputy Chief of Mission at the French Embassy in India, Mr Bruno Bosle, Country Director for AFD in India, Mr Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary & Mission Director , Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Mr Hitesh Vaidya, Director, NIUA, and Mr Raghu Rai, esteemed photographer and chairperson of the competition jury. The winners of the competition will also be felicitated at the event, followed by an exhibition walkthrough.
The winning photographs, as well as a curated selection of other outstanding entries will be on display at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi from 3rd October to 6th October, 2022.
Ministry of Defence
AZADI KA AMRUT MAHOTSAV: SUMMIT OF MT MANIRANG BY ALL WOMEN MOUNTAINEERING TEAM
As a part of commemorative activities for 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav', symbolising 75 years of Independence, Indian Air Force had flagged off an
All Women Tri-Services Mountaineering Team on 01 Aug 21 from Air Force Station, New Delhi.
The team successfully summited Mt Manirang  on 15 August 2021. Mt Manirang is one of the highest peaks of Himachal Pradesh, nestled at the border of Kinnaur & Spiti districts. Close to the peak is the Manirang pass, which was one of the early trade routes between Spiti and Kinnaur, before the motorable road was built.
The 15-member expedition team was led by Wing Commander Bhavana Mehra of the Indian Air Force. The other members of the team who summited the peak and hoisted the national flag atop are Wg Cdr Bhavna Mehra, Lt Col Geetanjali Bhatt, Wg Cdr Nirupama Pandey, Wg Cdr Vyomika Singh, Wg Cdr Lalita Mishra, Maj Usha Kumari, Maj Saumya Shukla, Maj Veenu Mor, Maj Rachana Hooda, Lt Cdr Sino Wilson and Flt Lt Komal Pahuja.
Prime Minister's Office
Our people deserve the best possible infrastructure: PM
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has said that Government is committed towards providing the best possible infrastructure to the people. PM also said that Government’s strides in infra creation have been widely lauded.
Responding to a tweet by Karnataka Chief Minister, the Prime Minister tweeted;
“Our people deserve the best possible infrastructure, which our Government will always work hard to provide. Our strides in infra creation have been widely lauded.”
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Indian Council of Agricultural Research  launches National Agricultural Higher Education Project  to attract talent and strengthen higher agricultural education in the country
The second Indian Agricultural Research Institute  of the country established in Barahi, Jharkhand
Skilled human resources in agriculture must become the basis of agricultural advancement and in view of this, the Modi government has given special emphasis on the upliftment of agricultural education. This was stated by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh while addressing inaugural function of the fourth Convention of 2-day "Agrivision-2019" organized by Vidyarthi Kalyan Nyas in Pusa, New Delhi.
The Minister said that in order to make agriculture education useful, the recommendations of the 5th Dean Committee have been implemented in all the Agricultural Universities under which amendment of agricultural degree courses has been done to include biotechnology, information technology, bio-informatics, remote sensing, organic farming, agriculture business management etc. Emphasis has been given on experiential learning, skill and entrepreneurship development. Along with this, four new programs, B.Tech , B.Sc. Community Science, B.Sc. Food Nutrition and Dietetics and B.Sc. Sericulture have also been included.
Shri Singh informed that the ICAR has recently launched Rs 1100 crore ambitious National Agricultural Higher Education Project  to attract talent and strengthen higher agricultural education in the country. This project will be funded by the World Bank and the Indian Government on a 50:50 basis. In addition, a four year degree in Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries and Forestry has been declared a professional degree.
He said that Rajendra Agriculture University has been upgraded as Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University to strengthen the government’s effort to bring green revolution in Eastern India including North East. At the same time, Indian Agricultural Research Institute  has been set up in Barhi, Jharkhand on the lines of IARI, Pusa New Delhi, and another IARI is being set up in Assam.
In order to promote the participation of students in agricultural business, Student READY  scheme is being run, under which practical experience of agriculture and entrepreneurship is provided to undergraduate students.
A MoU has been signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to promote skill development in the field of agriculture. Under this, skill development training programs are being organized regularly in KVKs across the country. These training programs are based on agriculture and related topics.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu place requirements for over 1 Lakh MT of Tur under retail intervention scheme of price moderation of pulses
DoCA has also decided to release 40,000 MT of Tur from the buffer stock in Open Market Sale
It has been seen in the last fortnight that despite nearing Kharif harvest season of Tur and Urad, the retail prices of these pulses have not only remained high as compared to last year, but also recorded a spurt recently. As on October 12, the all-India average retail price of Tur and Urad was observed to have increased by 23.71% and 39.10% respectively, over last year. Several consuming centers of these pulses have recorded an increase of over 20% during the past 15 days.
In order to moderate the retail prices of pulses, Department of Consumer Affairs  had, in September, introduced a mechanism to supply pulses from the buffer stock to States/UTs through NAFED. It was decided that States/UTs would be supplied pulses in bulk and/or in retail packs for retail supply through fair price shops of PDS and other marketing/retail outlets of the State Government such as Dairy and Horticulture outlets, Consumers Cooperative Society outlets etc. To make the retail intervention impactful on the retail prices confronting the consumer, the offer price of pulses for retail intervention has been fixed on the basis of Minimum Support Price  or the Dynamic Reserve Price  whichever is lower.
Accordingly, Dhuli Urad is being offered to States/UTs for retail intervention @Rs.79 per kilo for K-18 , and Rs.81 per kilo for K-19. Similarly, Tur is offered for retail intervention @ Rs. 85 per kilo. Till date, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu have placed their requirements for Tur for a total quantity of over approximately 1,00,000 MT. More States are expected to come forward in the near future.
Apart from this retail intervention, DoCA has also decided to release 40,000 MT of Tur from the buffer stock in Open Market Sale  in small lots so that the releases may reach the retail market at faster pace and help in cooling off rising prices.
The Government of India took the visionary step in 2016 for creating a buffer stock of pulses and onions, so that retail prices of these commodities could be moderated through a strategy of calibrated and targeted intervention. The objective is to obtain price data from all over the country and get real-time information of price trends, on the basis of which deployment from buffer stock is ensured.
Ministry of Development of North-East Region
Arunachal Pradesh Governor calls on DoNER Minister Dr Jitendra Singh
The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Brig  B D Mishra called on Union Minister of State  Development of North Eastern Region , MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh here today and discussed a wide range of issues, particularly cadre related and other issues pertaining to the State.
The Governor reiterated the demand by the Arunachal Pradesh State government, including Chief Minister Shri Pema Khandu to have a separate IAS cadre for the State of Arunachal Pradesh, which is presently a part of the AGMUT cadre, shared by Union territories and the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Goa. He said, this demand is motivated by the increasing requirement of IAS officers for the State as well as by the consideration of having officers exclusively designated to serve in the State.
In view of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh also likely to become part of the AGMUT cadre after 31st of October, Brig Mishra requested to explore the possibility of excluding the States out of it, since two new Union territories will get added to the cadre from next month.
Dr Jitendra Singh conveyed to the Governor that he has already instructed the Department of Personnel & Training  to undertake an exercise to explore the possibility as well as feasibility of the demand put forward by the Arunachal Pradesh government. He said, since the Union territories fall under the domain of Ministry of Home Affairs, an option, if any, will require to be discussed with the Home Ministry as well. However, we shall try to take up the issue with the Home Ministry also for their view, he added.
Meanwhile, the DoNER Minister informed the Governor that most of the pending Centrally funded projects for Arunachal Pradesh have been cleared and are progressing satisfactorily. He informed that the land for the first ever airport for Arunachal Pradesh has also been acquired and the work on it is likely to start soon. Another landmark project of the State will be the upcoming Film and Television Institute which was approved by the Modi government in its first term and is possibly going to be the first institute of its kind after a similar institute that already exists in Pune, he added.
For promotion of tourism, the DoNER Minister shared with the Governor, a number of new initiatives envisaged by the Modi government.
Ministry of Finance
Six more states to roll out intra-State e-way bills from April 20
As per the decision of the GST Council, e-Way Bill system for all inter-State movement of goods has been rolled out from 01st April, 2018. As on 15th April, 2018, e-Way Bill system for intra-State movement of goods has been rolled out in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. E-Way Bills are getting generated successfully and till 17thApril, 2018 more than one crore thirty three lakh e-Way Bills have been successfully generated which includes more than six lakh e-Way Bills which have been generated for intra-State movement of goods from 15th to 17th of April, 2018.
It is hereby informed that e-Way Bill system for intra-State movement of goods would be implemented from 20th April, 2018 in the following States:-
- Bihar
- Jharkhand
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Tripura
- Uttarakhand
With the roll-out of e-Way Bill system in these States, it is expected that trade and industry will be further facilitated insofar as the transport of goods is concerned, thereby eventually paving the way for a nation-wide single e-Way Bill system. Trade and industry and transporters located in these States may obtain registration/enrolment on e-Way Bill portal namely https://www.ewaybillgst.gov.in at the earliest without waiting for the last date.
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister meeting with State Counsellor of Myanmar
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar on the margins of the ASEAN-India Summit on November 03, 2019. Recalling his last visit to Myanmar in September 2017, and the visit of the State Counsellor to India during the ASEAN-India commemorative Summit in January 2018, the leaders expressed satisfaction at the progress of the vital partnership between the two countries.
Prime Minister emphasized the priority India attaches to Myanmar as a partner at the crossroads of India's Look East Policy and the Neighbourhood First policies. Towards this end, he emphasized India's continuing commitment to improve physical connectivity to and through Myanmar to Southeast Asia, including through building road, port and other infrastructure. India would also continue to strongly support the expansion of capacity for Myanmar's police, military and civil servants, as well as its students and citizens. The leaders agreed that people to people connectivity would help expand the base of the partnership, and therefore welcomed the expansion of air connectivity between the two countries, and the growing interest of India's businesses in Myanmar, including the plans of the Government of India to host a business event for the CLMV countries  in Yangon at the end of November 2019.
State Counsellor Daw Suu Kyi reaffirmed the importance her Government attached to the partnership with India, and her appreciation of India's consistent and sustained support for the widening of democracy and deepening of development in Myanmar.
The two Leaders agreed that a stable and peaceful border was an important anchor for the continued expansion of our partnership. Prime Minister emphasized the value India attaches to Myanmar's cooperation in ensuring that insurgent groups do not find space to operate across the India-Myanmar border.
With regard to the situation in Rakhine, following the completion of the first Indian project to build 250 prefabricated houses--which were handed over to the Myanmar Government this July--PM expressed India's readiness to carry out more socio-economic projects in this State. PM emphasized that the speedy, safe and sustainable return from Bangladesh of displaced people to their homes in Rakhine State was in the interests of the region, the displaced persons, and all three neighbouring States: India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The two Leaders agreed to maintain the tempo of high level interactions in the year ahead, recognizing that strong ties across all pillars of cooperation were in the fundamental interests of both countries.
Ministry of Power
PFC approves 633 crores loan for 5000 passenger EVs and 1000 cargo EVs;
5000 passenger EVs being deployed in Delhi, to result in saving of 1 lakh tonne of CO2 equivalent
Power Finance Corporation Ltd , a Maharatna company and the leading NBFC in Indian power sector, has sanctioned a loan of ₹633 crores to Gensol Engineering Ltd  for purchase of 5000 passenger Electric Vehicles  and 1000 cargo EVs. The passenger EVs will be leased to Blusmart Mobility Pvt. Ltd  to expand its fleet of ride-hailing cabs. The first tranche of the loan has been disbursed, and the first lot of EV cabs has hit the roads of Delhi.
The cabs were flagged off by Shri Ajay Tewari, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power and Shri Ravinder Singh Dhillon, CMD, PFC at a function yesterday. Rajiv Ranjan Jha, Director , Shri Manoj Sharma, Director , Smt. Simmi R. Nakra, CVO and Shri Anmol Singh Jaggi  and other Senior Officers were present on the occasion.
Addressing on the occasion of flagging off the first lot of EVs, Shri Ravinder Singh Dhillon, CMD, PFC said, “E-mobility adoption is going on at a fast pace in the country, and we believe that there is a huge potential in this field. Through this funding, PFC has endeavoured to contribute towards India’s Nationally Determined Contributions  goals, and this will go a long way for moving towards a healthy and sustainable mode of transport.”
The 5000 passenger e4Ws  funded by PFC are being deployed in Delhi and would result in emission savings of over 1,00,000 tons of CO2 equivalent. This is equivalent to the amount of CO2 absorbed by over 5 million fully-grown trees in a year. With a vision of accelerating India’s net-zero goal, PFC, apart from funding renewables in a big way, has been exploring opportunities in debt funding of EVs , Battery OEMs and EV charging infrastructure.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Photo Division announces 8th National Photography Awards
Photo Division, Press Information Bureau, under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, has invited entries for the 8th National Photography Awards.
The Division confers these Awards every year, to promote various facets of the country such as art, culture, development, heritage, history, life, people, society, and tradition through the medium of photography, and to encourage professional and amateur photographers across the country.
The National Photography Awards are conferred under three categories - Lifetime Achievement Award, Award for Professional Photographers, and Award for Amateur Photographers.
The Lifetime Achievement Award carries a Cash Prize of Rs. 3,00,000/-.
This year's theme for the Professional Photographers is 'Life and Water.' The awards under the Category for Professionals are one ‘Professional Photographer of the year’ award with a Cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000/- and five Special Mention Awards with a cash prize of Rs. 50,000/- each.
This year's theme for the Amateur Photographers is 'Cultural Heritage of India.' The awards under the Category for Amateurs are one ‘Amateur Photographer of the year’ award with a Cash prize of Rs.75,000/- and five Special Mention Awards with a cash prize of Rs.30,000/- each.
Detailed Guidelines, and the Registration Form for the 8th National Photography Awards are available on the websites photodivision.gov.in and pib.gov.in